1. Related Applications
There are no applications related hereto heretofore filed in this or any foreign country.
2. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to releasably interconnectable elongate repair devices to be used at least in pairs to fasten the ends of a broken wire strand together.
3. Background and Description of Prior Art
Stranded wire fences providing one wire strand or a plurality of sequentially spaced strands supported on plural spaced vertical posts are commonly used for animal barriers, definition of land boundaries and other purposes. The strands of wire in such fence structures commonly are maintained in a taut condition to provide an appropriate barrier, maintain structural integrity, and fulfill other purposes. If the taut condition is not properly maintained, the wire strands and portions of the entire fence may fail their purposes. In many common fence constructions strands forming a fence are movably supported on spaced vertical posts for tightening purposes or otherwise so that if a strand breaks it may move appreciably, not only between two posts proximate to the break, but also for some distance in each direction therebeyond.
The breaking of wire strands by reason of external forces or physical deterioration is a common occurrence in fence structures and may effect a fence structure over substantial areas to destroy or lessen its effectiveness. The repair of a broken wire strand is often difficult as the strand commonly was taut before its breaking and by reason of the general fence structure the broken ends of the wire may not be movable to an overlapping fashion to allow direct fastening by wrapping of one end of the broken strand about the other end. This problem has heretofore been recognized and various repair devices having some length and means at least one end to fasten one of the broken ends of a wire strand have become known. The instant invention provides a new and novel member of this class of repair device for broken wire strands in a fence structure.
The tension under which fence wire strands must be maintained to sustain ordinary forces that they incur, and especially to prevent animals from breaching the barrier, are substantial, often ranging to one hundred pounds or more. Any repair device for broken wire strands must interconnect the ends of the broken wire in a fashion to withstand such forces and the fastening device itself must withstand them, especially when the repair device is to be used other than in temporary fashion and after a broken wire is retightened to its original tension. Various prior repair devices have either not addressed this problem or have not addressed it adequately and have provided repair devices that are no stronger than the wire strands being joined. My invention resolves this problem by providing a compound fastener having two releasably interconnected body elements that are formed of material stronger than the wire fence strands to be interconnected so that the body of the structure and the joinder of the two body parts is stronger than the interconnected wire strand. The device also provides hook-like structures in its end parts on which broken wire strand ends are fastened by looping one or more times about the hooks to provide a strong fastening juncture that has substantially the same strength as a strand of the wire being repaired.
Because of the substantial tension under which fence wire strands are maintained, an effective repair device must provide means for securely fastening each of the ends of broken wire strands so that those ends may not move relative to the repair device after they are fastened. Prior devices often have provided no secure means to fastened ends of wire strands to the repair device but have relied merely upon the manipulation of the wire strand ends by wrapping them upon themselves to fulfill this purpose. Such fastening has often been insecure and commonly allows the overlapped wire strands to move relative to each other and relative to the fastening device, especially over a period of time, to allow tension to lessen in a repaired wire strand over a period of time. My invention alleviates this problem by fastening the broken end of a wire strand in looped fashion about an open hook which is covered by a so-called "wire nut" carried on my fastener and having internal threads with such configuration that the nut is movable over the hook structure. The looped portions of the wire strand to be repaired are engaged in the threads of the wire nut and thereby securely maintained relative to the fastening hook.
Any wire strand repair device to provide practical utility must be of simple operation and must not require the use of ancillary tools or mechanical devices which may not be available. Prior fasteners that have provided integral wire tightening mechanism are distinguishable from the instant fastener which is of a simpler and more economic nature and may be permanently left in the fence if desired. My fastener is of a small nature so that several fasteners may be carried in a small space such as a saddle bag or similar container that is commonly available to a person making emergency fence repairs and my fastener may be installed by manual manipulation without the use of any tools. My fastener provides a body of sufficient length to allow looping of each end of a broken wire strand upon itself to form a loop, and this may be readily accomplished by manual manipulation and without tools. Each portion of my fastener may be separately fastened to one end of the broken wire strand and the two fastener portions then fastened to each other by their medial hook portions. If desired a wire stretcher may be used to aid this function and create more tension in the repaired wire strand than might be created by manual manipulation.
My invention lies not in any one of these features individually, but rather in the synergistic combination of all of the structures of my fastener that necessarily give rise to the functions flowing therefrom as herein specified and claimed.